Spirits of Love
by darkknightshadow
Summary: When another teenager gets transported to Ivalice through the Gran Grimoire, he is immediately forced into a whirlwind of events that will change Ivalice... and himself. Chapter 3 just added.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a moonlit night in the Nubswood. Starts dotted the black sky, and a river softly flowed along. A lone knight stood on a branch of one of the many trees in the forest. His black armor and sword seemed to reflect the moonshine, making him look almost ethereal. Next to him was a viera, dressed in stylish red robes. Her hat had a small white feather in it, and her rapier was safely tucked away at her side. They were both looking down at a town not too far from the forest. The candle lights in the many windows of the town went out one by one as the inhabitants fell asleep.

"So… we're almost there," the knight said softly to his companion.

"Yeah, that's Cyril in the distance. I'm sure the leader of our clan is there, and we should be able to find him easily… He was once wanted by the Palace, you know," she answered.

"So you'll recognize him?"

"Of course! How could I forget the face of our clan leader?"

"Well, don't get too comfy yet." A third voice interrupted their conversation. Looking up, the knight saw a viera assassin laying down between two branches. She was dressed all in black, and was well concealed in the trees. Her black katana hung loosely from her back.

"It's been almost 3 years now... maybe he might not recognize us."

"Must you always pop up like that? You almost gave me a heart attack!And why are you still using that Charfire anyway? The Masamune 100 is… well… 100 times better!"

"Sorry, Charfire is for when I need concealment. Kinda like... the day we met."

The knight chuckled to himself. "It's funny you mentioned that…"

"Why?"

"Because, it's been exactlyone year since I met you two. Well, I'm off to bed. We have a big day ahead of us, you know?"

"Okay, good night," the two viera said to the knight. As they went to sleep, he pulled out a small journal and started to flip through the pages. He finally got to the one he wanted and started to read to himself.

"The 5th of Kingmoon, year 20xx…" As he started to read it, his memories flooded back to him, clear as day...


	2. A Letter, A Sword, and A Judge

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming! As a side note, all spell and attack quotes will either be taken from the original Final Fantasy Tactics (hey, I wanted to connect the two in some sort of way) or made up by myself. And the italicized parts without quotations are some of the writings in the knight's journal.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance nor Final Fantasy Tactics.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Letter, A Sword, and A Judge

_One minute I was relaxing at home, reading a strange new book I had bought. The next minute, everything changed. Everything went black, and suddenly I felt like I was getting sucked through a vacuum. Not a pleasant experience, I must say. I couldn't remember much after that. But I knew in my heart that that moment would change my life forever…_

The knight woke up after what had seemed to be a long nap to find himself in a forest at midday. Light was streaming in through the slight breaks in the tree line, and a soft wind was blowing. He stood up, shakily at first. He was about 5'7'', slightly muscular, and had dark brown skin. His black hair rippled in the wind.

"Whoa, what just happened? Felt like I got the wind knocked out of me-" he said as he turned toward his gear.

"Hey, where's my stuff? And… what the heck have I got on?" For instead of the sweater and blue jeans he always wore, he had on a dark purple hooded robe with white symbols on it. His hat became a black cloth mouthpiece (like assassins in the game), his shoes were a pair of ninja tabi, and instead of his cell phone and belt he found a beautiful black knightsword and sheath. Instead of books, his bag was filled with healing medicines.

"Okay, officially weird. Waking up in a place feeling weak, having no hint of where you are and your stuff magically changed into a set of combat gear is not a good sign." He picked up his sword and sheath and was surprised to find a small note slip out of the sheath. Our hero, ever curious, picked up the note and started to read.

"_Dear Alexander,_

_Congratulations on making it to the land of Ivalice. I'm sure that the trip between time, space, and dimensions themselves didn't hurt you too much, did it? Well, be thankful that I chose a beautiful place for you to wake up! Oh, even I miss taking my daily walks in the Salikawood, especially when clans get into unsuspecting battles with fairies and need my assistance. It's better than waking up in Aisenfield with a Tonberry Knife shoved halfway down your throat, hmm?_

_Well, after you've gotten over my dry sense of humor, I want you to take a trip to the Delia Dunes. It shouldn't be too far from your present location. Hmm… maybe it's the desert landscape that has made my humor so dry! _

_I'll be watching,_

_Mateus"_

_After I read that note, a horde of new questions flooded my mind. Salikawood? Aisenfield? I'd never heard of them before in my life. And either this "Mateus" fellow is very knowledgeable about this place or some kind of crackpot joker. And that sword I picked up… it had faint red lines in it, and it seemed to be… pulsing! Kind of like when you hold someone's wrist. The red lines seemed to faintly glow with every pulse… could it be blood? Everything was hazy, but I knew one thing was clear: This was no accident. I was somehow destined to be here. The question is, why? _

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the forest. Alexander, acting on what seemed to him to be instinct, quickly picked up his stuff, sheathed his new sword, and ran through the forest, trying to pick up the source of the sound. As he ran, he noticed that he was much faster than in the other world.He could clear short distances with the greatest of ease.His senses were extremely sharp, able to pick up the slightest sound or air current. Alexander slowed his run as he finally neared the source of the sound. He hid behind a tree as he saw what would be to him the strangest sights of his life.

_Two lizard-like things were advancing on a bunny girl- literally, she was a bunny girl! She was tall and slender, and had a pretty face, but as soon as I looked into her eyes I saw the fear. Fear... and determination. Whoever or whatever she was, she was ready for combat. A red rapier hung at her side. The two lizardswere clad inheavy armor and were carrying swords similar in shape to mine, but one was purple and another blue. A human and another bunny girl, bothand wielding bows, flanked her. A small white furry thing wearing a blue robe and yellow hat brought up the rear._

"Shoot, this girl is seriously in deep with these guys… why would they send so many for one girl?" Alexander softly said to himself. Out of nowhere, another bunny girl leapt out of the tree behind the scared mage, did a few front flips, and landed in front of her. She was clad all in black, and had a veil on similar to his. She carried a black katana with her.

"You're not going to get her, Clan Borzoi! I don't care how many thugs you send after us, we will never join you!" the one in black said. She turned back to the warrior-mage.

"You OK, Eldena? Want to let me take care of them? I can Last Breath them easily enough, you know…"

"No thanks Eustine, I'm still able to fight these pathetic weaklings. Even with your assassin skills, you would run out of MP anyway." The mage drew her rapier, and the assassin her katana.

'Uh-oh, looks like it's going to be a fight… and a bloody one too. Better just sit back,' Alexander thought to himself.

_Little did I know what was going to happen. A white vortex appeared, and a silver knight riding a large white bird appeared. He seemed to be like some kind of official, a judge of sorts. This was one of the few things I was right about this new land..._

The judge said in an official-sounding voice,"The laws today are: Soul/Knuckles, Target All/ Target Area, and Dmg2:Animal/Status.

All violators will first be given a yellow card and then be sent to prison. Now, for assessment of parties."

_Laws?Prison? Assessment of parties? Must be some kind of pre-fight ritual. However they fought around here, one thing was for sure: it was pretty well organized._

"Party 1: Two bangaa Defenders, Jona and Chelney. One human Archer, Joshua. One viera Archer, Fio. One moogle Black Mage, Rob."

"Whew, in the clear. Nobody's seen me. Might as well make my escape." Alexander said as he started to walk away.

"Party 2: One viera Red Mage/Summoner, Eldena. One viera Assassin/Elementalist, Eustine."

_And then came the moment that stopped me cold. The judge turned toward my direction and said,_

"Party 3: One human Swordmaster, Alexander."

* * *

A/N: Sorry if it's a bit short, this is my first story and I'm kind of not used to writing them yet. But it's a cliffhanger, isn't it? Brings up a lot of questions... How will Alexander fare in his first engagement? How will the others react to his presence?And what exactly is a Swordmaster, anyway? All this and more in Chapter 2! 

Read and review!


	3. Engage!

A/N: Sorry about the _very_ long hiatus, folks. I've been very busy, and I know you've all been waiting for Chapter 2. Also, I may be making changes to a couple of the spell quotes (see Chapter 1) because some spells that exist in FFTA do the same things as some of the spells in FFT (ex. I'm using the "Wall" spell quote from FFT as the quote for "Barrier")

* * *

Eldena: darkknightshadow does not own Final Fantasy Tactics nor Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Eustine: Or us, for that matter.

Me: Uh, yes I do. I made you.

Eustine: No you didn't. You took the names out of your FFTA file, which was made by the programmers at Square Enix, not you.

Me: But I'm making you famous to the whole world. So therefore, I own you.

Eustine: I'm already famous. All you need to do is pick up FFTA and continually recruit viera from missions until you get me.

Me: But you're only one out of at least 100 female names, plus you were the first viera in my party. So I own you.

Eustine: Either you don't own us, or I'll Last Breath you.

Me: Women… whatcha gonna do?

* * *

Chapter 2: Engage!

_Well, this sucks. That dumb judge had to give away my presence. Didn't he realize that I'm new here? Didn't he know that I had absolutely no clue on how to fight with a sword, much less win an 8-on-1 match with these strange creatures?_

"Ssswordmaster? I don't ssee no ssswordmaster!" Jona said while quickly turning about, trying to find Alexander's location. "You're lying!"

"Or maybe _you're_ just an idiot who doesn't know the first thing about concealment," Eustine replied dryly.

"What are you talking about? I don't sssee him, so he'sss not there!"

"Are you just too arrogant to admit that I'm right and you're wrong? Or are you just plain dumb?"

"Thosse are fighting wordsss!" Jona yelled as he drew his purple knightsword and rushed towards Eustine.

"He's coming," Eldena said. As if it was a reply to her words, Alexander withdrew from his hiding place and ran perpendicular to Jona's charge. As the two met in front of the assassin, Alexander drew his sword and checked the bangaa's run with it's edge.

"I would stop, before you run right into my beautiful sword here. I wouldn't want it to be stained with your blood," Alexander said to the surprised bangaa, who took a small tumble after the sudden stop.

"Who the heck are you?" Jona replied as he regained his bearings.

"Me? I'm the Swordmaster."

_Of course, I didn't know what I was saying at the time. Maybe I was trying to be brave. Maybe I was trying to impress the viera. But another thought haunted me. As I said those words, I felt another presence within me. It was like someone was speaking those words through me, like someone was controlling my actions…_

"Swordmaster Alexander, are you ready to engage?" the judge asked him.

_It was now or never. I turned toward the judge, viera to one side of me, this "Clan Borzoi" on the other._

"Bring it on." The Judge whistled, and the engagement started.

Alexander felt an air current on his left side. He turned to see Jona swinging the knightsword at his head with full force. Alexander did a quick back flip and dodged the strike. As he landed, he saw Eustine dash toward him with her katana out of the corner of his eye. He raised his sword and blocked the strike.

"Nice reflexes, for a newbie at engaging," she said to him as their swords locked.

"Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bangaa to take a small bit of revenge on." Alexander performed a sweep-kick on Eustine's legs, knocking her off-balance. He jumped onto her katana as she fell and used it as a springboard to leap higher in the air. He came down behind Jona with a hard downward strike, cutting a ribbon of skin off the back of the bangaa's head and making a gash in the back of his armor.

"Crud! I'm injured! Someone kill this guy!" Jona yelled as he ran away from Alexander to apply some first aid to himself. Joshua and Fio each notched an arrow to their bows and fired at Alexander. He managed to dodge the first one, but the second one hit him right in the chest and pierced a lung. (Robes don't provide a lot of defense, you know.)

Chelney rushed forward toward the injured Alexander.

"Prepare to die, sssucker. _Thunder's wrath, unleash yourself through my blade! Bolt Sword!_" Out of the blue, lightning struck the bangaa's knightsword. But instead of electrocuting him, the lighting enveloped itself around the blade, making it larger. Alexander, kneeling on the ground and coughing up blood, turned to his left to see Chelney in the air, poised to cut him in half with the lightning blade…

_And then it happened. As I looked up and saw that lightning sword, time stopped. No, this wasn't some kind of near-death experience, everything froze! Then- blackness. I felt the presence again, only this time it was stronger, more real. I felt my sword pulsing faster and harder than ever before. Was it some kind of reaction to being close to death? Perhaps I was wrong before… And then I saw… them. _

_One was wearing brown plate armor. He was pretty old… I mean, he did have a white mustache, after all! He also wore a brown chain skirt, gray boots, and this weird brown helmet that seemed to cover the back of his head more than the front.. He carried around a red sword with him. The other… he sent chills down my spine. His red hat didn't cover much of all that blonde hair. He had a set of red armor on, bearing a moon crest. He looked like a normal human being, but his eyes… they were cold and held no mercy or feeling. He also held a sword, a blue one just like the bangaa who was going to attack me… As I stared at both of them, what looked like a red winged eyeball appeared in front of the old man._

"_No… you gotta run… It's going to kill you…" I weakly muttered, but he paid no heed to my words. He pointed his sword at the eyeball and muttered a few words. Then, a black eye appeared out of the sky above the winged monster. It fired a few thin rays of light at the ground, and suddenly a large blood red sword rose up out of the ground and pierced the monster! The old man seemed to gain some strength from the attack as well. Then the guy in red threw his sword into the ground and chanted a spell. He picked up the sword and pointed it at the monster. Purple-tinted skulls came from every direction and converged on the monster. A black aura surrounded it, and suddenly a fountain of dark power erupted from the ground, obliterating the monster! _

_They looked at me. I heard a voice in my head saying, "Use our power well."_

"_Who are you?" I said weakly, trying to hold on to my strength._

"_It doesn't matter. What you need to do right now is dodge that Bolt Sword attack."_ _Then, everything returned to normal. It was the absolute strangest occurrence in my lifetime. _

Alexander managed to roll out of the way of the Bolt Sword just before it was about to hit him. Chelney's sword lodged itself in the ground because of the sheer force of the attack.

"Double crud, I misssed," Chelney said to himself in frustration.

"I won't!" replied Joshua as he notched another arrow and aimed at Alexander. "Eat Concentrate, loser," he said as he let go of the bowstring. Alexander took the second arrow to his other lung.

"_That's it,_" he thought to himself as the other arrow struck. "_That's the end of me. I can feel it already. I'm getting weaker- weaker- weaker- stronger?_" Alexander saw a white magical field surround him. It removed the arrows from his body and closed up his wounds, leaving him refreshed and ready to fight again.

"You can thank me later," Eldena said as she finished up her Cure spell. She drew her rapier and stabbed Jona, who was trying to escape from the conflict. Jona fell down unconscious. "Right now, we have four more people to deal with."

"K.O. verified. One judge point," the judge said as he threw a small white crystal at Eldena.

"_Your death will be swift and silent as a shadow. Last Breath,_" Eustine said softly as she snuck up on Chelney from behind and clasped his throat with her right hand. He struggled for a few moments, then went limp. "Make that three," she said to Alexander as she dropped the bangaa's body on the ground. The judge awarded a point to her. "Now who's eating Concentrate?"

"OK, time to kick my performance up a notch," Alexander said to himself. "But how can I kill these archers? I can't rush them; they'll shoot me to pieces." Then he remembered…

"The technique! It's a gamble… but I'm willing to take it." Alexander spun the sword a few times in his hand, then pointed it at Joshua and yelled, "_Master of all swords, cut energy! Night Sword!_"

Nothing happened.

"Hehehe, what's the matter? Your sword not working for you today?" Joshua taunted him as he notched yet another arrow to his bow. "Unfortunately for you, my bow is. _Mystic arrow, pierce with absolute accuracy! Take…_aaahhh!" Out of nowhere, the dark eye appeared, and the blood-red sword arose from the ground and sliced Joshua up, killing him.

"Two judge points awarded- one for K.O, one for Target Area. Don't give me that look Eustine, you should know that the judicial branch has revised its laws on judge points," the judge said as Eustine looked at him, totally dumbfounded that the "newbie" just got two judge points.

"What are you?" Fio said as Alexander turned toward her. "Get away from me!" She launched a volley of arrows as he rushed toward her, but to no avail. Alexander dodged the arrows, got within striking range, and delivered a crushing downward slash to the archer. He sliced a main artery in her neck and killed her. Another judge point was awarded for the critical blow.

"Grr… kupo, I thought I would never have to use this…" Rob growled out of his tiny mouth. He held a white card in the air, which disappeared in a blue flash of light.

"New law in effect: Forbidden: Knightswords. Recommended: Color Magic," the judge droned.

"Wait a min- Knightswords and Color Magic never opposed each other!" Eldena yelled at the judge.

"Sorry, that's what his law card says," the judge replied. "Either obey or get sent to prison."

"Where's your sword attack now, Mr. Swordmaster, kupo?" Rob said to Alexander. "You've gotten lucky these first two times, but your luck has just run out! _Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thundara!_"

"Hehehe… not entirely," Alexander replied with a smirk on his face. He threw his sword into the ground and started to chant a spell.

"_Aurora, exhale bloody air! Dark Holy!_" Alexander picked up his sword and pointed it at the tiny Black Mage. The skulls enveloped the moogle, just as they had done to the ahriman before. The resulting dark explosion ripped through Rob's body, rendering him quite dead. Although Rob managed to finish the spell, due to the Dark Holy attack it fizzled out because he did not have enough energy to sustain it. Alexander kneeled to the ground, exhausted after the outpouring of magical energy.

"I believe that is one judge point. Engagement over, right?" Alexander said to the dead body of the moogle mage.

"No," the judge replied

"Whaddya mean, no? I killed all of the enemies!"

"No, you haven't."

"Yes, I have."

"No, you haven't. You must be quite blind, which would be a mystery as to how you landed your attacks with such accuracy, but regardless, those two viera are quite alive."

"You mean I have to kill them too?"

"Yes."

"Can't I just forfeit?"

"You can."

"Then I do. I can never raise a sword to people I am indebted to."

_Again, I didn't realize what I was saying._

"Engagement over. Here is your 8000 gil for winning today's engagement, ladies," the judge said as he handed a sack filled with money to Eustine.

"Well, that's over and done with. Man, it's nightfall already. What a day!" Alexander said as he stretched out after the furious fight. "Time to head to that- what was it- Delia Dunes?"

"Hey, kid."

"What?" Alexander said as he turned around and saw a bag almost hit his face. He caught the bag and looked inside it. There was the gil that the viera had won from the engagement.

"We don't need this money; our clan has over 1 million gil.

"One million? How did you get it all?"

"Stuff like this. Engagements with other clans, missions, etc. etc. This is nothing. Take it kid, you've earned it," Eustine said to him as she started to walk away.

"Wait!" he yelled after the assassin.

"What is it, kid?"

"First of all, stop calling me 'kid'. Second, do either of you know where Delia Dunes is?"

"Why do you wanna go to that wasteland, kid? Nothin' there but some antlions and barking sands."

"I told you to stop that…"

"Ease up, it's my way of showing you that I'm not going to Last Breath you within the next ten seconds. You gotta take things a little more light-hearted!"

"Wait, one minute you're cold and furious, the next you're light-hearted?"

"It's my charming personality."

"Right, and I'm a Judge."

"See? You're taking my advice already. But seriously, kid -and yes, I can be serious as well- if you want to head to Delia Dunes, you're gonna need a guide. Someone trustworthy, someone strong."

"Actually, I was hoping that you two would show me where the Dunes are. I'm sure I'll be able to take it from there."

"No way! We have our own errands to run. We ain't got time to escort some lost kid to a desert."

"Cyril is just across the dunes and Nubswood, isn't it Eustine?" Eldena said softly to the assassin. "It wouldn't be out of our way at all, and this one seems like a powerful ally. He could be useful if we run into more trouble."

"I doubt it, Eldena. Those sword skills that he used were pure chance. Powerful, yes, but lucky. You as well as I realize that."

"I can feel it in my heart, Eustine. This meeting of ours was no accident. His path and ours are intertwined."

"sigh Fine, he can come," Eustine replied dryly. She turned toward Alexander. "OK, kid, you're in. We'll take you, but only as far as the dunes. Then you're on your own."

"Agreed. Ah, we haven't been formally introduced, with the engagement and all. I'm Alexander," he said as he stuck out his right hand.

"Assassin Eustine. Nice to meetcha, kid," she said as she gave him a hearty handshake. "That over there's Eldena- a Red Mage." Then she started to walk away towards the treeline.

"Very pleased to meet you, Alexander. I have the feeling that this is the start of a beautiful partnership," she said with a smile.

_Somehow I think that she knew more than she was saying. Did she know what was going on?_

"Come on! We ain't got all day you slowpokes! We gotta break camp before it's too late!" Eustine yelled to the other two as she jumped into a nearby tree and disappeared into the forest.

"Spunky, isn't she?" Alexander said to Eldena.

"You get used to her," she replied, and with a chuckle, she followed after Eustine.

_But it was ok. I had friends… real allies I could trust. You said that it was the beginning of a beautiful partnership, Eldena. How right you were._

* * *

A/N: So there you have it, Alexander pwns in battle and makes a couple of allies. What awaits them in the Delia Dunes? What do the two men in Alexander's vision have to do with him? And how is Mateus connected to all of this? Find out in Chapter 2: Delia... and Destiny! 


	4. Delia and Destiny!

A/N: Ok, I'm continuing this fic even though I haven't gotten any reviews for Chapter 2 yet. I guess it's because I forgot to post "read and review" at the end of it. Oh well. This is probably my longest chapter yet, as it contains some back story about Alexander's companions, as well as their adventure to Delia.

Disclaimer: I do not own FFT nor FFTA. However, I will be "borrowing" aspects from the Final Fantasy series in the near future… probably in the next chapter or two. So be prepared. Also, my characters are going to be using a little bit of Japanese in their expressions as well, to show some connection between Ivalice and the "real world". Don't worry, I'll translate for you.

2nd disclaimer: I am not fluent in Japanese, so excuse me if I misspell a word here and there.

Also, sorry about the lack or ruler lines this time, my internet was acting stupid and I kept getting an "error on page" message. I'm spacing the story far from the Author's Notes so you'll know where one ends and the other begins.

Bacardi and Cola: They Get The Job Done! (best. commercials. ever.)

Chapter 3: Delia… And Destiny!

_Lesson 1: Viera are extremely hard to keep up with, especially if they're assassins._

Alexander found that it took up all of his energy just to keep his new assassin friend in sight. It seemed to him that for every tree he jumped on, she was at least three trees ahead of him. She was silent, too; he could barely hear the leaves rustle as she nimbly jumped from branch to branch to find a clearing.

"_She's really giving me a workout,_" Alexander thought as he finally saw her slow to a stop. "_I haven't run this fast since P.E. yesterday._" With that thought, he felt a small pang of homesickness. He knew this world was cool and all, but he really needed to get back. There was homework to do, school to attend, etc. etc. As these thoughts ran through his head, he felt himself slow down.

"_I have to focus… otherwise, I'll never catch up with her._" He shook the thoughts out of his head and started to speed up again. Finally he saw her slow down and jump out of the tree to the ground. Eldena appeared by her side a few seconds later. Alexander jumped out of the tree and landed next to the duo.

"You're… pretty… fast…" Alexander managed to say to Eustine between breaths. "I'm… tired out."

"Don't waste all your energy, kid… we still need to set up camp," she replied.

"Oh yay… more work."

While the two viera set up the two sleeping bags that they brought with them, Alexander left for a deeper part of the forest to chop firewood. He unsheathed his sword and swung it towards the nearest tree. Instead of being stuck in the hard wood as a normal sword should be, his sword sliced through the trunk with little effort.

"Whoa… strong sword." Alexander decided to sit down and make a more thorough examination of his sword, seeing as he was interrupted the first time by Eldena's scream. Its black hilt was made of pure obsidian and was set with glittering onyx stones. It was also hollow, allowing for messages to be passed through distribution of the sword. What struck him most, however, was the blade, just like the first time he saw it. On this second examination, he found that it was not black, as he had first perceived, but in fact a dark blood red. The "blood lines", as he had dubbed them, were a much brighter crimson red.

_The lines were pulsing. I knew it. This sword shared some kind of connection with its wielder. Because the sword seemed to pulse with every beat of my heart. I longed to know the name of this exceptional sword. I searched all over the blade, and finally found it engraved in the hilt, in crimson lettering: "Ekibyougami." This sword's wielder must have been from the real world as well. He knew Japanese… as did I. "Ekibyougami" meant "Angel of Death"._

"Sure picked the right name for this sword," Alexander said to himself as he got up and started to chop more wood. After slicing five more trees, he sheathed his sword and shouldered the six logs. He slowly lugged the wood back to camp as Eldena and Eustine finished setting up. Alexander placed the logs on the ground as Eldena cast a mild Fire spell. The trio stretched out by the fire to relax.

"So kid, where you from?" Eustine asked the tired Swordmaster.

"It's a small town called St. Ivalice. I just moved there last month. It's really great, with the snow, and high school, and all that…"

"Wait. Did you say St. Ivalice?" Eldena asked him. Alexander sensed some wonder in her inquiry.

"Yeah, you didn't hear me the first time?"

"Yes I did," she replied. "It's just that… we also know some people from St. Ivalice."

"Wait, you mean there's other people from the real world here?"

"Yeah, kid. Our clan leader, he's tall just like you. Blonde hair, with a weird flip on top. He's a little shy, but when he gets on the battlefield, man! He's a beast!" Eustine said to him. "His girlfriend's from the real world too. She's a little shorter than him, pink hair, and a somewhat short fuse. Make her angry, and you'll need more than some flowers and a Sleep spell to stop her."

_Others from the real world? It wasn't possible. But the two people Eustine described… they fit the descriptions of the two who saved me in P.E. one day…_

_flashback_

"_Hey, new kid!"_

_I walked by without talking to them._

"_Hey, I'm talking to you!"_

"_And?"  
_

"_You're gonna get creamed in today's snowball fight!"_

"_Yeah, right."_

"_Don't listen to those jerks," the girl said to me. "They like to pick on the new kids, all the time. They think they're all that… no wonder why they don't have girlfriends."_

"_They probably go out with each other." We both laughed._

"_Team one: Marche, Ritz, Mewt, Christine, Alexander. Team two: Lyle, Colin, Guinness, Sylvia, Joseph. Everyone ready?"_

"_Yeah!"_

"_Begin!" I picked up a mound of snow, rolled it into a perfect ball, and threw it straight into Lyle's face. Then I did the same to Colin. And Guinness. That's what they get for underestimating me. Then I turned around to pick up more snow. I turned back, poised to throw, and felt something hard and sharp hit my forehead. I saw drops of blood mix in with the snow I was holding, and I felt faint. The last thing I remembered was the blonde kid tackle Colin, and the white-haired girl bent over me…_

_end flashback_

"You look somewhat disturbed. Is something wrong?" Eldena asked Alexander as she saw the worried expression on his face.

"No, it's… nothing…"

"Whatever. I'm turning in. G'night, you two," Eldena said as she crept into her sleeping bag and drifted off.

"Good night, Eustine," Alexander replied.

"Sleep well," Eldena said.

_I figured I would make some conversation… at least find out the background of my two partners. I didn't want to be adventuring with them one day only to find out that they're wanted criminals and have the law on my ass for being an accessory._

_Lesson 2: Viera are very good conversationalists. Or maybe it was the rapture of the firelight that made Eldena tell her stories…_

"So, Eldena…"

"Yes?"

"Where are you from?"

"Eustine and I are from Muscadet, the city of the viera. From what I heard, she was born into an archer family, one of the best in the city."

"_Her voice is beautiful," I thought. "She speaks so articulately… It's like I'm talking to a princess."_

"Archer family?" Alexander inquired.

"Well, it's tradition in Ivalice that you become the same job as your parents were. Eustine, however, wanted more than that, ever since that Borzoi assassin strolled through one day… She's trained her skills, and is now the top assassin in Ivalice. She's so dedicated to her job, and a huge credit to viera everywhere. I suppose her parents would be immensely proud of her, if they could see her now…"

"Where are they?"

"They join the never-ending ranks of the spirits now, Alexander. Ever since they died, she became a wandering mercenary, joining and resigning clans. Some were nice to her, and gave her kindness and love.. Others… weren't. She was treated as an object, a piece of property to send into battle. She continued this existence until a small moogle black mage asked her to join the newly formed Clan Chaos. For some reason, she stuck with that clan from its early days."

"Why?"

"My reasoning is that they were like her new family to her. They were unusually kind to her, especially Montblanc- the mage I mentioned earlier. I guess that's what spurred her to remain with them and become their assassin. I suppose that the spirits of her parents look on and aid her through her battles as well- both internal and external."

"Her parents help her? But they're dead!"

"That is true, Alexander. However, while she was perfecting her assassin abilities, she was also learning a viera-exclusive form of magic- Spirit Magic. You see, we viera are quite attuned to the presence and flow of sprits through both worlds- theirs and ours. Those who harness the power of the nature spirits that exist in Ivalice are called Elementalists, and the magic that they use is none other than Spirit Magic. I suppose that using Spirit Magic is one way for Eustine to remain close to her parents."

"But that doesn't explain the weird accent," Alexander said to her.

"She picked it up while she was still wandering the clans, and she's never seemed to get rid of it. Oh well, I think it's cool anyhow."

_I didn't know she had gone through such a tragic past. She seemed so cheerful on the outside. I didn't know what to say, how to respond…_

"That explains her, but what about you, Eldena? Surely you have an… interesting story about your background as well?"

Eldena chuckled. "Not really. My mother was a skilled White Mage, and my father a human Hunter. My sister Melissa followed my father's path in the way of the long-range fighter, but I wanted to study magic, just as my mother did. However, after my mother taught me the basic Cure spell, I decided that I didn't want to be stuck in the back of the battlefield just healing everybody. I wanted some of the action, too. So, I did a little bit of training with the rapier, and I started learning the skills of a Red Mage."

"And what exactly does a Red Mage do?"

"Red Magic combines the elemental offenses of Black Magic, the healing of White Magic, a protection spell, and a couple of status spells. Our real power, however, is to cast any two spells in one turn with our Doublecast ability. It's quite potent."

"Wow! Sounds good. You must be the Uber-Mage then, right?"

"Yes and no. The price of learning so much magic is that us Red Mages are only relegated to the basic level of each spell. Quantity over quality, I suppose. However, there was a way for me to become much more powerful, although I must admit, it puts a large drain on me every once in a while."

"What do you mean? From what I see, Red Mages are already powerful enough…"

"Do you remember what I told you about harnessing the power of spirits?"

"Yes, about how Elementalists can use the power of nature around them to attack?"

"Correct. It is only one of the two advanced schools of Viera Magic, however. The other school of magic uses their intimate connection to the Spirit Realm to call forth beasts of great wonder and power. They have been called different names throughout the ages- Espers, Aeons, Guardian Forces, Avatars- but their power remains constant. Those who harness this power are the Summoners."

"And I'm guessing you're a Summoner?"

"You're very perceptive. Using my unique Doublecast ability, and a ton of focus, I can call forth two of these beasts at once, whether it is to rain down fire and lightning on my foes or to heal and protect my allies. Like I said, it's quite a drain on my magical power."

"Wow. I didn't know you two were that powerful. I'm going to have to be more careful when dealing with you from now on."

"Don't be on edge all the time. We're your friends, Alexander. You have nothing to fear from us."

"Well, it's getting late. You should be going to bed."

"What about you, Alexander? Aren't you going to get some rest as well?"

"Nope. I'll take up a watch. After what I saw today, I don't need Clan Borzoi ambushing you during the night."

"But Alexander, you're tired! You won't be able to stay up through the whole night."

"Trust me, I'll try."

"No, you won't. Sorry I have to do this, but it's for your own good. _Lose consciousness, wash away into the silent sea… Sleep._" A calming white aura surrounded Alexander, and he started to relax and close his eyes.

_Lesson 3: Don't argue with a viera. She'll give you a status effect…_

_The 6th of Kingmoon, 20xx._

_That Sleep spell that Eldena cast on me worked wonders. I woke up this morning quite refreshed. The fire was going, and the ladies were taking out pots and pans for today's breakfast. It seemed like it was going to be another normal day._

_However, it seems that with these two, no day is normal…_

"Good morning, Eldena, Eustine," Alexander said while yawning.

"Ah, you're awake. How was your night?" Eldena asked him.

"Peaceful, thanks to your sleep spell. What's going on?"

"Hey, kid. We're just preparing stuff for breakfast," Eldena said as she took out two chocobo eggs.

"No, let me do it. I can make a mean omelet. You have any tasty herbs I could put in this thing?"

"Yea, here's some musclamoi, picked fresh from the Giza Plains. Tastes great, and it's good for you too," she said as she handed a bunch of a small green herb to Alexander. He cracked both of the eggs into a bowl and added some fresh lamia milk to the bowl. He stirred the mixture together and added the herbs, then poured it into a frying pan. Alexander held the pan over the fire as the omelet started to cook. When one side was done, he flipped it over with a flick of the wrist.

"It's ready," Alexander said as he cut the omelet into three pieces with a knife. "Do you like it?" he asked as they both tasted it.

"Like it? Kid, it's superb!" Eustine exclaimed as she cut piece after piece and ate. "Man, I haven't had a meal like that in ages!"

"Yes, this omelet is quite good. Where did you learn your cooking skills?" Eldena asked.

"In the other world, I always used to cook for myself. It's something I picked up from my mother. She was always telling me, 'Son, once you go to college, you have to cook for yourself! I'm not sending you a meal every day of the week!'" Alexander finished up his portion of the omelet and picked up the cooking utensils.

"Is there a river around here? I need to wash these."

"You don't need a river when you've got me. _Essence of water, punish my enemy in your flow! Sliprain!_" Eustine exclaimed. Blue spirits gathered around her and formed a blue ball over her head, which rose into the air. Giant balls of water fell down on the utensils, thoroughly cleaning them.

"Is that Spirit Magic?" Alexander asked.

"How- how did you know I was using Spirit Magic?" Eustine said to him with wonder.

"I- I saw the blue spirits gather around you as you were using that attack."

"_There's no way-" _Eustine thought. _"Only viera can see spirits… just what is this kid?"_

"Come on, let's go! We have a desert to find!" Alexander exclaimed.

_Finally, I was going to know what was going on here. I needed some answers. Why was I sent here? Who are those two people that appeared while I was in that battle? How was I able to use those sword skills with no effort at all?_

The trio quickly moved through to the forest's edge. As they approached the dunes, Alexander noticed the trees becoming more and more scarce, and then ceasing to appear completely. The ground was drying out into sand and becoming more and more rocky.

"Welcome to the Delia Dunes, kid," Eustine told Alexander after about a half hour of running. "Here's your stop…"

"It… can't be…" Eldena said. "There's no way it can still be here…"

"What are you talking about?" Alexander asked as he went over to Eldena's side. Then he saw it- the look of fear in her eyes.

_The same look as when I met her… And then I saw it. A small black circle appeared out of nowhere. I could still see the rocky landscape, but it had turned black and gray. It then disappeared._

"A… seam? There's no way a seam still exists here! Clan Chaos destroyed the crystal and the seams three years ago!" Eustine exclaimed.

"What's a 'seam'?" Alexander asked.

_It appeared again. The same size, and the same blackening effect. It disappeared._

"A seam is a wrinkle is space-time. It can teleport anyone to anyplace at any time. But it shouldn't be here…" Eldena said in a monotone voice.

"Look out! It's opening!" Eustine yelled.

_The circle appeared for the third time. But this time, it engulfed everything. The desert, the sky, us. I felt the same sensation as when I arrived- like I had been punched in the gut and dragged through a steel tube. I awoke in some type of strange temple-like area. The floors were tied and the walls were made of gray stone. Before me floated a large blue crystal with yellow magical symbols under it._

"Wh-where am I?" Alexander said. Then he looked toward Eustine and Eldena, who were behind him. They started to wake up as well.

"There's no way… we're not here… there's no possible way that we can be here…" Eustine was saying. Eldena still had that look of fright in her eyes.

_And then… she came. I heard a voice coming from my left side…_

"Konichiwa, Alexander-san, Eustine-chan, Eldena-chan."

"Japanese? But how…?" Alexander looked to his left.

_She must have stood six feet tall at least. She was fully clad in navy blue armor with orange trim. Her helm had two long appendages that stuck out from either side of her head, like a Judge's helm. She carried a large silver crosier with her, and she had… a tail? "Who are you?" I asked her. The answer was what I had been waiting to hear for a day now…_

"My name.. is Mateus."

A/N: You knew it was coming. Alexander finally meets the totema Mateus. A lot of questions are going to be answered in Chapter 4: Inheritance of the Ages, so keep reading.

And because I didn't post it for Chapter 2, I'm putting it in caps this time…

READ AND REVIEW!


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